Football vs Tennessee Tech Hall of Fame Day 700.5091

Sarah Ritter

Leatherneck Football Heads East to Face Rival Panthers

Friday, November 01, 2024 | By: WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

MACOMB – The Western Illinois University football team hits the road this week to take on Eastern Illinois.

The Panthers are one of WIU's longest-standing rivalries, first meeting 1930. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff.

WHO | Western Illinois (3-5, 2-2) at Eastern Illinois (1-7, 0-5)

WHEN | Saturday, November 2, 2024; 2 p.m.

WHERE | Charleston, Illinois; O'Brien Field

FOLLOW ALONG | WATCH; LISTEN; LIVE STATS

SOCIAL MEDIA | X; Facebook; Instagram

PREVIOUSLY | The Leathernecks are coming off one of the greatest offensive performance in program history, falling to Lindenwood, 49-38. Nathan Lamb set a program record for passing yards and completions while receivers Matthew Henry and Eli Aragon each had over 100 yards receiving.

Eastern Illinois scored the first points of the game with a seven-yard touchdown on the opening drive to lead 7-0. UT Martin answered with 21 straight points to lead 21-10 at the half on the way to a 52-17 win over EIU.

NEXT | Western Illinois returns home to host Tennessee State at 1 p.m. on November 9; Eastern Illinois is at Gardner-Webb for a 12:30 p.m. kick

ABOUT THE LEATHERNECKS | Western Illinois has won three of its last five games this year … WIU is led by QB Nathan Lamb, who is 162-242 passing with 1954 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. RB Cameren Smith leads the ground game with 625 yards on 145 attempts. Both Smith and Lamb each have five rushing touchdowns. Matthew Henry leads the team in receptions (41) and yards (689). Henry also has three receiving TDs. Eli Aragon leads the squad with five touchdown receptions … Ryan Crandall leads the defense with 65 tackles. KJ Coleman has 43 while Jordan Anderson and Tyler Henry each have 33 … Punter Jared Campbell has 32 punts with an average of 40.69 yards, a long of 56, two touchbacks and seven inside the 20 … Kicker Antonio Chadha is 9-11 on field goals with a long of 48. Chadha also has 19 touchbacks on kickoffs.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS | EIU has lost six-straight games … RB MJ Flowers averages 66.5 yards rushing per game … QB Pierce Holley is 179-299 for 2032 yards. He has 10 interceptions and nine touchdowns … WR Cooper Willman leads the team with 41 receptions, 543 yards and four TDs. Terrance Gipson added 23 catches for 285 yards and Flowers has 38 grabs for 237 yards … Anthony Shockey leads the defense with 67 tackles. Kaelin Drakeford has 47 tackles and Nijhay Burt has 46 … Punter Jared Horvath as 41 punts with an average of 44.88 yards. He has a long of 76, 11 punts over 50 yards and 11 inside the 20 … Kicker Drew Schiller is 3-7 on field goals with a long of 40. Julian Patino is 2-3 on field goals with a long of 30. Patino has nine touchbacks handling kickoffs.

HISTORY | The two programs have met 67 times since their first-ever meeting in 1930. Western Illinois is 42-21-4 all-time vs. the Panthers. The Leathernecks have won five-straight vs. Eastern Illinois, but have not played since 2016. The last win for EIU came in 1995. Since 1990, WIU has won nine of the last 10 games played.

NOTES | Quarterback Nathan Lamb was named Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Week last week. Lamb set new records for completions in a game (42) and passing yards (564) while tying the second-best single-game passing touchdown program mark with five last week at Lindenwood. Lamb was named Player of the Week for the third time this season, the most for the Leathernecks since Brett Taylor was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week four times in 2017. Lamb is the first three-time Offensive Player of the Week since Matt Barr earned the honor thrice during the 2010 campaign … As an offense, the Leathernecks ran 86 plays for 713 yards. The total yards were the second-most in program history, behind the 743 the team put up against Carthage in 1951 … Matthew Henry also established himself in the record books as his 15 receptions now rank second and his 226 yards rate sixth … The performances of Henry and Aragon made them the first WIU receiving duo to have over 100 yards receiving in a game since Jay Parker and Jaylin Jackson did it vs. Lindenwood last year … Cameren Smith is third in the Big South-OVC averages 78.1 yards rushing per game … Ryan Crandall is fourth in the BS-OVC with 65 total tackles … Henry is 4th in the BS-OVC in receptions (41) and 3rd in yards (689) … The three wins are the most for the football program since going 5-6 in 2018.

AROUND THE BIG SOUTH-OHIO VALLEY | Last week: Home teams went 4-0 last week as Tennessee Tech, Southeast Missouri, Lindenwood and UT Martin each won.
SEMO (5-0) stayed atop the conference, topping Gardner-Webb (1-3) 30-24. Tennessee Tech (3-2) kept Charleston Southern winless in conference play, winning 28-23. EIU also remained without a victory, falling at UT Martin 52-17. WIU fell at Lindenwood, 49-38. Tennessee State was on bye
This week: A battle for second play occurs in Nashville as Tennessee State (3-1) hosts UT Martin (3-1). Lindenwood (3-2) meets Tennessee Tech (3-2) in a matchup between a pair of 3-2 schools. Land of Lincoln rivals Western Illinois (2-2) and Eastern Illinois (0-4) meet in Charleston. Charleston Southern looks for its first conference win, hosting Gardner-Webb. League-leading SEMO is on bye this week.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nathan Lamb, QB • 6-3, 230, Sr. • Tulare, Calif. • Western Illinois
Lamb tallied 604 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in a road loss at Lindenwood. The 604 yards are the second-most by a FCS player this season. The senior completed 42-of-55 passes for 564 yards and five touchdowns (without an interception) and carried the ball 11 times for 40 yards. The 564 passing yards and 42 completions were both program records and the 42 completions are the most by an FCS player in 2024. His passing yards are the second-most nationally this season while touchdowns are tied for fifth. His passing touchdowns went for 14, 6, 2, 5 and 15 yards, with three of them coming in the second half. Nationally for the season Lamb ranks 10th in total offense (276.1 yards/game), 12th in passing yards (1,954), 16th in passing yards/game (244.3) and completions/game (20.25), 18th in points responsible for (102) and 19th in completion percentage (66.9%).

Others Nominated: Chris Rhone, Charleston Southern; Pierce Holley, Eastern Illinois; Steve Hall, Lindenwood; Cole Ruble, Southeast Missouri; D.J. Linkins, Tennessee Tech; Kinkead Dent, UT Martin.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jaylon Sharpe, LB • 6-3, 240, Grad. • Charlotte, N.C. • UT Martin
Sharpe keyed a UT Martin defense as the Skyhawks won its fourth-straight game, knocking off Eastern Illinois 52-17. The linebacker tallied eight tackles (1 solo, 7 assists), returned an interception 72 yards for a touchdown and added a pass breakup and quarterback hurry. The pick-six came midway through the fourth quarter and was the first of his career. Sharpe leads the Association and ranks 16th nationally in tackles for loss (1.6/game).

Others Nominated: Darrius Bell, Charleston Southern; Wendall McClain, Gardner-Webb; Bryce Norman, Southeast Missouri; Aaron Swafford, Tennessee Tech.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DC Pippin, K • 6-0, 195, Sr. • Springfield, Ill. • Southeast Missouri
Pippin earned his third Special Teams Player of the Week award of the season after tallying 12 points as Southeast Missouri won its seventh-straight game to improve to 8-1 on the season, knocking off Gardner-Webb 30-24. Southeast Missouri led 21-14 at halftime and Pippin scored all nine second half points, converting field goals from 45, 28 and 37 yards, the final coming with 5:09 to play. The senior also kicked off six times for an average of 63.2 yards. Pippin ranks first nationally in field goals made per game (2.22) and 10th in scoring (9.7 points/game).

Others Nominated: Gilbert Brown, Charleston Southern; Jacob Horvath, Eastern Illinois; Nick Bigelow, Gardner-Webb; Dom LeBlanc, Tennessee Tech; Jaren Van Winkle, UT Martin; Antonio Chadha, Western Illinois.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Steve Hall, RB • 5-9, 195, R-Fr. • St. Louis, Mo. • Lindenwood
Hall rushed for 259 yards on just 13 carries (19.9 ypc) and scored four touchdowns in Lindenwood's 49-38 win over Western Illinois. The freshman had touchdown runs of 9, 12, 75 and 93 yards, with the final coming with 1:31 to play in the game to ice the victory. The 93-yarder tied the longest offensive play in Lions history and was the fourth-longest run in the FCS this season. His 259 yards on the ground are the third-most by a FCS player this season. Hall, who came up just 13 yards shy of breaking the Lindenwood single-game rushing mark, also added a catch for eight yards. His 675 rushing yards on the season is second-most among all players in the Big South-OVC and the most by a freshman at the FCS level in 2024.

Others Nominated: Tyson Greenwade, Charleston Southern; Quenton Rogers, Eastern Illinois; Dom LeBlanc, Tennessee Tech.
PRESEASON NOTES | For the Leathernecks, Nathan Lamb (quarterback), Torrance Farmer Jr.(running back), Demari Davis (wide receiver), Brandon Lanier (tight end), Isaiah Foote(offensive line), Tre Henry (defensive line), Juan DelaCruz(linebacker), Willie Jones (defensive back), Christiaan Masucci(placekicker) and Jared Campbell(punter) were named Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association Players to Watch … Western Illinois football team also was recognized by Phil Steele/Draftscout.com with five players named to the 2024 Phil Steele/Draftscout.com Preseason All-Big South-OVC Team. The Leathernecks had a pair of linebackers named second team as Juan DelaCruz and Ryan Crandall were honored. Western Illinois also had a trio of players named third team as wide receiver Demari Davis, offensive lineman Isaiah Foote, and cornerback Willie Jones were listed.

                                                            WIU                EIU
Points per game                                 28.0               15.88
Points allowed                                   43.63            35.75
Total yards per game                        399.9             327.9
First Downs                                       178                137
Rushing yards per game                  134.0              69.3
Passing yards per game                    265.88          258.63
Yards allowed per game                   509.1             436.4
Rushing yards allowed per game    264.4              168.1
Passing yards allowed per game      244.75           268.25
Penalties-yards                                  53-479          38-331
Average per punt                              40.69             38.75
Average time of possession               31:00           27:45
Third-down conversions                   46-109           35-105
Fourth-down conversions                 9-16              6-16
Sacks-yards                                        12-84           9-61
Field goals                                          9-11              5-10

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